I like you, kid
by Zietraum
Summary: Edric gets dragged into the world of becoming one of the Joker's goons after his aunt and uncle are killed, how will he cope under the pressure of being one of the most dangerous criminals henchmen? And is it just me or is the Joker liking him more and more? -JOKERXOMC- BOYXBOY- YAOI- NONCON IN LATER CHAPTERS- JOKER IS IN CHARACTER- NOT FLUFF-


JokerXOMC boy on boy don't like don't read. WARNINGS: noncon in later chapters and violence in like… all the chapters. :D

If you read any of my other stories then you know I like to keep the Joker in character, none of this 'Oh I'm in love and suddenly I'm no longer a crazy maniacal murderer!"

I do not own TDK, or the Joker. I just own my own characters, like the older henchman and Edric Hall.

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**I like you, kid.**

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Edric Hall was minding his own business, pottering around his family owned Deli. It was soon to be closing time and Edric did as much cleaning as possible, whilst there were no customers, so he could go home earlier.

He was lucky, really. Although he did not per say… _enjoy_ his job, he was grateful for the stability and regular income. It wasn't enough for a five star mansion in The Palisades, but it supported a cozy apartment on the outskirts of the Narrows quite well.

If it wasn't for his Aunt and Uncle taking him under their wing after his mother's sudden disappearance, he would have been left to fend for himself at the tender age of fourteen. It had been three years since then and he did whatever he could to make himself less a burden on his extended family.

So that was why he worked late into the night, allowing his aunt and uncle to rest upstairs in their flat whilst he guarded the store until close.

It was nearing ten O'clock now and watched the clock hands tick mind numbingly slow towards the goal. He barely registered when the bell rang above the door, signaling a customer.

He dragged his dark eyes away from the clock and let them widen as three large, burley men walked into the store.

Immediately the alarms bells in his head starting going off, this was not right. Something told him that these mob types weren't after cold sandwich meats at ten in the night.

The door opened again and this time a slightly smaller and leaner, older man walked in. Edric eyed the group nervously, as the newcomer grinned at him.

"We are after, a Joseph Lawman" He said, his eyes seemed to twinkle but he had a dangerous aura about him.

Edric looked at the graying goon, before opening his mouth to speak.

"Uh… I'm afraid he's not here… We are about to close so you'll have to come back tomorrow." He tried to sound firm and unafraid but his voice cracked slightly at the end, giving him away.

The man smiled again, nodding his head.

"Oh well that's a shame, but I'm afraid it's a desperate matter of urgency, he'll have to see us now."

Edric stared at the man warily, unsure of what to do. He resorted to backing up slightly to the concealed staircase behind him and calling out.

"Uncle! There are some men here to see you."

There were a few moments of awkward silence before a voice called back.

"It's ten O'clock; tell them to come back tomorrow!"

Edric frowned at his response and looked towards the intimidating men again before calling out once more.

"They say it's a matter of urgency."

This was followed by another moment of thick silence before a muffled shuffling could be heard from upstairs. The staircase creaked under the weight of the older man, although he was far from heavy.

Soon he stepped off the last stair and looked up at the men filling up his small Deli.

His eyes widened and he went pale.

"Mr. Lawman, so good to see you!" The older goon exclaimed. "It seems there has been some kind of… mix up, with your last two payments to us…" he said, growing more serious towards the end of the statement.

"My boss has been very kind to you, has he not? And your business has been safe from theft and vandalism… it is only fair you keep your end of the deal, Mr. Lawman."

The goon was dead serious by now and Joseph Lawman was pale with fright. Edric looked at his uncle, seeing how devoid of color his face was, realizing something was very wrong.

"Well…uh, you see…." His uncle was stuttering now, setting Edric on edge even more.

"We haven't been doing well business wise lately… and we just haven't had the money…" The old man whispered.

Edric was confused; he had thought business was booming these past few months, why was his uncle lying?

The older goon chuckled a bit before speaking again.

"Well Mr. Lawman, our sources say quite the opposite actually, your business is doing very well. You just don't want to pay do you?" His voice hardened as he gritted his teeth together.

Joseph opened his mouth to speak but only whimpers escaped.

"I'm sorry Mr. Lawman but my boss does not like liars."

And with that the man un-holstered his handgun and fired off a few rounds into the old man.

Edric barely had time to react. He heard the shots go off, he heard them plant themselves into his Uncle's chest, he saw blood pour from the old man's ears, nose and mouth like miniature rivers, as he fell to the ground.

He snapped back into focus as he heard the thump of his Uncle's dying body hit the ground. He threw his arms over his head for protection and then sunk behind the counter. He heard footsteps running down the stairs and didn't even have time to warn his aunt before she was blasted with bullets as she reached the bottom.

Then there was silence. Edric kept switching between the lifeless bodies of his only family in disbelief.

"Should we kill the kid?" Edric barely registered the voice of a previously silent goon before he heard footsteps coming towards the counter.

The older man, the one who had shot his Uncle, rounded the Deli counter and looked down at Edric, locking eyes with him.

Edric just stared back at him, his hands still protecting his head.

"I say we take him back, suss him out a bit, I think I see potential in him."

The goon grabbed him by the arm and wrenched him up until Edric was standing. He started to drag him out of the store. Edric would look back and wonder why he didn't put up any kind of fight that night, but he would put it down to shock, or possibly that fight or flight thing.

He was chucked into the back of a plan white van, whilst the other goons piled in.

He took what would be his last look at his family Deli, before the van started up and drove away.

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Oooookay. Sorry for not including The Joker just yet but I wanted to build a sort of background for the main character and also a kind of background relationship between the other goon and him.

For once I actually know where this story is going, start to end, so I'm not just aimlessly writing. Which is always a good thing.

The Joker will make an appearance in the next chapter I promise, you'll just have to follow the story to see

Anyway thanks for reading and please review, it makes my day.


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